I love cheese. All by itself. In something or on something. Cold or hot. It doesn’t matter. When I was little, I went through a cheese sandwich phase. All I wanted was a slice of sunbeam, some mayo, and a slice of nuclear-orange American cheese. Throw in a glass of lip-staining red Kool-Aid and you had just made my dinner.
We like our cheese sandwiches a little more grown-up now. A good crusty baguette fresh from the oven, piled high with either fresh mozzarella or spread with a creamy brie. But if the drink you’re throwing in is going to stain my lips red, it better come with a cork!
This cheesy spread is a super quick fix and the flavors of smokey mozzarella, homemade mayo, and the turmeric really make it a fancy, distant relative of one of my other childhood favorite cheesy foods: Pimento Cheese.
While super tasty, there is a downside: the turmeric-laced spread easily stains cute white skirts. If you keep it on the plate and off your lap, you and your skirt will be fine. If you subscribe to the ‘no white after Labor Day’ school of thought, you will also be fine.
I did neither.
Smoked Mozzarella Cheese Crostini Spread
8 oz shredded, smoked mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/2 cup roasted red peppers
2 Tbsp finely chopped green onions
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp fleur de sel
Toasted baguette slices
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Place a 1 Tbsp-dollup of cheese mixture on toasted baguette slices and serve.
I let it sit overnight in the fridge and then topped the crostini the next day.
Yields: 1 1/2 cups (or enough topping for 24 crostini)
Adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens, Fall/Winter 2008